Why go into primary care?

I had a conversation with a couple of my good friends who are both currently in medical school...I asked one of them what kind of doctor he wants to be and he replied, "I think I want to be a surgeon." As a result of his answer, I jumped right into what I learned from PM508 about the shortage of primary care physicians and how the US health care system fosters an environment that discourages medical graduates from pursuing careers in primary care. His response, again apathetic to my passionate discourse, was that primary care just seemed "too boring." In the conversation with my other friend, she says she wants to specialize in radiology because that's where the money is. In the back of my mind, I can't help thinking, are these the doctors we will be trusting our lives to? Why is there such a disconnect between passionate doctors who would do anything for their patients to those who just want to lead an exciting life with all the perks that life has to offer? Is that what medicine has turned into? A profession based on business and prestige rather than to serve the sick?

Dr. Dean Ornish wrote a piece on this very topic, the primary care crisis and steps needed to improve the number of medical graduates practicing primary care. Here's the link: http://www.newsweek.com/id/158429/page/2

Also, USA Today reported from JAMA that only 2% of US medical school graduates commit to the field of primary care, as seen here:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-09-09-doctor-shortage_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

I am not saying that specialists are evil or spite them for their choices. All I'm saying is that medical schools and the entire health care system alike encourage medical students' choices in favor of specializing. And though I don't think increasing primary care physicians' pay would solve their internal motivations to go into primary care, I do believe it will ease the financial burdens amassed from student loan debt. Let's focus on getting the population healthy on a more comprehensive level, as the WHO defined health, a state of physical, mental and emotional well-being and not just the absence of illness.